Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: The new Russian general in charge of operations in Ukraine, Valery Gerasimov, has said military reforms will respond to NATO’s possible expansion and the Western countries, which he accused of waging a hybrid war against Russia.
In his first public comments, Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of military general staff, admitted problems with mobilizing troops and broader challenges in the conflict that began 11 months ago.
“The system of mobilization and training in our country was not completely adapted to the modern economic relations,” Gerasimov said in an interview with the news website Argumenty i Fakty on Monday.
“So I had to fix everything without wasting any time.”
He warned that military reforms announced in mid-January could be adjusted to respond to security threats.
“Today, such threats include the aspirations of NATO to expand to Sweden and Finland, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against Russia,” he said.
NATO expansion drive
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Plans also urged for two additional military districts in Moscow and Leningrad and three motorized rifle divisions as part of combined arms formations in Zaporizhia and Kherson – regions Russia claims it “annexed” in September after referendums condemned on the international stage as meaningless.
Defence ministry of Russia has faced increasing criticism for battlefield losses and Moscow’s failure to win a campaign the Kremlin had expected to take just a short time.
But Gerasimov said modern Russia has never seen such “intensity of military hostilities,” forcing it to carry out offensive operations to stabilize the situation.
“Russia and its military are acting against the entire collective West today,” he said.
